GREEN BAY (NBC 26) -- A man already accused of child sexual assault is now accused of trying to hire someone to kill witnesses in the case.
Laene Piontek now faces two charges of solicitation of first degree intentional homicide. A criminal complaint filed Tuesday says Piontek was already in Brown County Jail after he was accused in a child sexual assault case.
The complaint said Piontek's cellmate told authorities that Piontek had offered him four payments of $5,000 dollars to murder witnesses related to the assault case.
The cellmate, identified in the complaint as "Individual 1", said Piontek gave him information about where the witnesses lived and worked.
The criminal complaint also transcribes part of a recorded phone call from the jail between Individual 1 and another party (expletives have been censored):
Called party: So do you got a good cellmate?
Individual 1: Not really.
Called party: Oh well…Remain calm.
Individual 1: Oh yeah, I’m just f-----g super calm.
Called party: Well you don’t need anything else on your plate.
Individual 1: The f----r is trying to solicitate me to murder.
Called party: Huh? Individual 1: He is trying to solicitate me to murder.
Called party: He is trying to recilitate you to what?
Individual 1: He is trying to solicitate me to murder.
The complaint also cites a written statement from the cellmate, which indicates that Piontek allegedly told him to “make it look like an accident.”
Online court records show Piontek appeared in court for the solicitation charges Tuesday afternoon. He is due back in court for the child assault case in July. If convicted on the solicitation charges, he faces a possible sentence of at least a dozen years behind bars.
